Web pages viewable over the Internet are well known in the art. Some web pages provide users with information without user interaction. However, the vast majority of web pages are user interactive with the web page designed to extract information from the user. For example, most business web pages are interactive in nature allowing the user to view, select, and purchase goods and services directly off of the web page.
An important tool used by web page designers to extract information from the users is a drop down menu. Drop down menus for web pages and computer applications are well known in the art. A drop down menu is hidden until the user clicks on a down button to open a list from which the user can select the applicable menu item. The user may then close the drop down menu by clicking the down button a second time. FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical prior art drop down menu. The drop down menu contains dialogue box 22 and down button 24. The user clicks down button 24 and a list of available menu items appears on menu 26. The user can then highlight desired menu item 28 and click down button 24 again to close the menu. Drop down menus of this type are used in a wide variety of different menus to present the user with a list of finite options such as, for example, email lists, account lists, lists of states or countries, or lists of different credit cards.
In some applications the number of available choices can be extensive. For example, if the menu is a list of all fifty states of the United States of America, the list would extend to the bottom of the window or off of the viewable area. One solution to the problem of extensive menu choices is to add a vertical scroll bar to menu 26. As seen in FIG. 2, vertical scroll bar 29 allows the user to browse the list of available items on menu 26 and select desired menu item 28. Desired menu item 28 remains highlighted even when the user scrolls through menu 26 and views the other menu items. Desired menu item 28 remains highlighted until the user selects a new menu item. In many embodiments, desired menu item 28 will appear in place of dialogue box 22 when down button 24 is clicked to close menu 26.
Another problem encountered when designing and using drop down menus is that the user may be required to make multiple selections from a single drop down menu. A common example of a requirement for multiple selections is when a user desires to send an email to a plurality of recipients and wants to select the recipients from a drop down menu. As seen in FIG. 3, one method for allowing a user to select multiple items is a conventional scrolling menu. The user may select menu items from the list by holding the shift or control button down while selecting each desired menu item with a pointer controlled by a user input device. A conventional menu is not preferable because it requires a large amount of space on a web page.
Furthermore, if the user is making multiple selections, the previously selected items become unselected if the user does not hold down the shift key or the control key while clicking on each of the selected menu items. Losing previous selections is a particular problem with notebook computers having a touchpad to control the pointer on the graphical user interface. Therefore, a need exists for an improved method to make multiple selections from a drop down menu.
Alternative methods for making selections from a drop down menu also include radio buttons and check boxes. FIG. 4 is an illustration of a prior art menu utilizing radio buttons. A radio button has a first circle that, when clicked on, indicates selection of the text adjacent to the radio button by displaying a second solid circle inside the first circle. Radio buttons act like the station selector buttons on a car radio. Selecting one button in a set deselects the previously selected button, so one and only one of the options in the set can be selected at any given time. In contrast, check boxes are used when more than one option in the set can be selected at the same time. FIG. 5 is an illustration of a prior art menu with check boxes. Check boxes are used to enable or disable one or more features or options from a set. When an option is selected, an x or a check-mark appears in the corresponding box. Radio buttons and check lists utilize more web page space than drop down menus and, unlike the drop down menus, continuously display all of the available menu choices. Therefore, a need exists for an improved method to select multiple menu items from a drop down menu.
Furthermore, the prior art methods of organizing information in a drop down menu are limited. The organization of menu items in a drop down menu are currently designated by the author of the web page (in the case of web pages) or by the computer programmer (in the case of computer applications). Web page authors and computer programmers almost exclusively organize drop down menu items in chronological, alphabetical, or random order which may not be useful to a user who could benefit from an organization based on a user specific criteria such as frequency of use. Therefore, a need exists for an improved method of organizing information in a drop down menu.
Moreover, it would be advantageous for users to be able to view selected menu items apart from the unselected menu items. This would facilitate easier review and revision of multiple selections from a drop down menu. Therefore, a need exists for a method to review selected menu items apart from the non-selected items on a drop down menu.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,376 (the '376 patent) entitled “Menu Control in a Graphical User Interface” discloses a hyperbutton used in conjunction with a menu to manipulate items on the menu. U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,796 (the '796 patent) entitled “Menu Bar Editor” discloses a direct screen manipulation technique for drop down menus. European Patent Application Publication 0 540 445 A1 (the '445 application) entitled “Method of Representing a Set of Computer Menu Selections in a Single Graphical Metaphor” discloses a method for representing drop down menu items as icons. However, the '376 patent, the '796 patent, and the '445 application do not disclose a method for improving the process of selecting, organizing, and editing menu items from a drop down menu on a graphical user interface or a computer display.
What is needed beyond the prior art is a method to provide options to a user to improve the process of selecting, organizing and editing menu items from a drop down menu. In addition, what is needed beyond the prior art is a method of modifying pointing device functions to automate manual steps required by the user when engaged in activating, selecting, scrolling and sorting functions.